Sunday, 29 September 2013

Urban Wandering: Paddington to Old Street

As I left home early on Tuesday morning, the weather was a bit dreary, but by the time the train had arrived in Paddington, the sun was just about beginning to burn off the early morning mist, and my plans for the day were set. I needed to attend a meeting near Tottenham Court Road, and as it didn't start until 10 am this provided with me an ideal opportunity for some Urban Wandering. I was also able to continue my wander after the meeting and drifted all the way out to Old Street. Some of the roads I wandered down were familiar, although as seems to often happen, I spotted some new ghost signs along the way. Other roads were completely new to me.

First up we have a ghost sign for WATSON BOOK BINDER on Crawford Street, London W1. This is definitely one I've walked past many time before. Not sure how I missed it.

Ghost sign on Crawford Street, London W1

On to one of my favourite London streets, Marylebone High Street, this next one is the former Queen's Head, now simply The Marylebone. Again I have walked past this many times but never noticed the old signage before.

Ghost sign for the Queen's Head, Marylebone High Street, London

And so we start moving into new territory for me. Well, I suspect it's not new territory, but it's certainly new to me with my recently developed sense of interest in psychogeography. Unfortunately I did not note down the name of the road where this particular ghost sign was found, but hopefully some knowledgeable reader can tell me. I can decypher all but the very top line, and the final word. Any clues anyone?

????

NIGHT GLASSSECOND HAND

FURNITURE

ANTIQUES ????

Ghost sign, London W1

I assume that this sign is from a much more recent establishment than most of the other ghost signs in this post, but nevertheless it's certainly not the bar or club that it used to be.

Blu Soul, Tottenham Street, London W1

This next sign is a bit curious. Everything else about the sign and the building suggests it's still in use, everything that is except for the missing letters in the middle of the sign.

Old sign for Hogarth Studios, Charlotte Street, London

These next two pictures are of Heals department store in Tottenham Court Road. These signs are actually on the Alfred Mews side of the building, and are of course not ghost signs, but they are old signs advertsing their trade as GARMENT MAKERS and BEDDING MAKERS.

Old signs on the side of Heal's department store, Alfred Mews, London

This sign advertises the shop's LIGHTING department.

Old signs on the side of Heal's department store, Alfred Mews, London

Further along Tottenham Court Road, I came across a ghost sign for J&J Goddard.

Ghost sign on Tottenham Court Road, London

As the time drew near for me to get to the location of my meeting, I started toward my destination and found this old sign for a former Telephone Exchange on North Crescent. Quite a grand building for a telephone exchange compared to some of the hideous monstrosities that house them these days.

Old sign for former telephone exchange, North Crescent, London, WC1E

As the weather had improved even more during the day, I managed to get out for 20 minutes at lunch time. My first find was this incredible building on the corner of Store Street and Ridgmount Street, which used to be the Bloomsbury Petrol Station, now converted into a restaurant.

Former Bloomsbury petrol station and forecourt, Store Street, London

The building now, on the corner of Coptic Street and Little Russell Street, houses a pizza restaurant and a museum, amongst other things, but is the former DAIRY SUPPLY COMPANY LIMITED. The stone carved lettering is immaculately preserved and can be seen on both visible sides of the building.

The former Dairy Supply Company Limited building, Coptic Street, London

The former Dairy Supply Company Limited building, Coptic Street, London

The former Dairy Supply Company Limited building, Little Russell Street, London

After spending probably too much time urban wandering over lunch when I should have been networking with fellow attendees, I reluctantly made my way back to the meeting. However, my day was far from over and after the meeting had finished I managed to continue my drift. These next three pictures are from Brownlow Mews. I had been here before, once during the day when I somewhat spectacularly failed to even notice these wonderful ghost signs, and once when I did actually notice them but it was too dark to take any decent pictures. So, it was with delight that I found myself here again, in good light, with some spare time to snap away. Of the three or four ghost signs here, this one is the most legible.

SHOP

OFFICE

& ???

FITTERS

Ghost sign, Brownlow Mews, London

On the next picture I can make out

???? CONTRACTORS

but cannot tell what's written before it.

Ghost sign, Brownlow Mews, London

As for these next two I have no idea at all.

Ghost sign, Brownlow Mews, London

Ghost sign, Brownlow Mews, London

As I neared the end of my journey, I came across this intriguingly named Bleeding Heart Yard, near Farringdon. I am not sure whether this 2 is a ghost sign or not, but I like it anyway so am going to include it as one.

Possible ghost sign in Bleeding Heart Yard, London, EC2

Possible ghost sign in Bleeding Heart Yard, London, EC2

I'm pretty sure there's no Air Agency below this old sign anymore. A great sign, and one of my favourites to date.

Old sign for E.Higgs, Air Agency, St. John's Lane, London EC1

After waiting patiently for a gap in the traffic so I could stand in the middle of the road to get this next picture, I was pleased with the final shot, particularly as I was only using my mobile which can be a bit hit and miss.

LEAD & GLASS

GEORGE FARMILOE & SONS LIMITED

MERCHANTS

Ghost sign, Clerkenwell, London

Inspired by my finds so far, I decided to keep going and was rewarded with this ghost sign in Old Street.

J.P.RESTAURANTS LIMITED

REFRESHMENT CONTRACTORS

Ghost sign, Old Street, London

Having walked for what felt like hours to my poor old feet, I didn't manage to note the location of this final ghost sign, other than that it's somewhere to the south of Old Street. Unfortunately it's another of those ghost signs that's hard to read. I can see ALL KINDS and CASH but not a whole lot else. Again, hopefully some intrepid reader can assist.

Ghost sign, near Old Street, London

So there you have it, a pretty long wander but hopefully enough decent pictures for you all to complete the journey with me.

About Me

Having grown up in one of the London suburbs, I'm interested in John Betjeman, J.G.Ballard, London suburbs, Avengerland (Borehamwood area where the classic 1960's and 1970's TV shows were filmed). More recently I have become interested in Psychogeography and Urban, Suburban and Coastal Wandering, which is where most of the subject matter in this blog now comes from.

I'm also an avid music listener and collector since the late 1970's. I like all sorts of genres ... punk, post-punk, new wave, industrial, ambient, krautrock, alternative, indie, goth ... naturally I have quite a few items I no longer need in physical format, so here's a link to my records and CDs for sale

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